Three month streak of no moldy leftovers in my fridge

I finally got serious about labeling everything with tape and a sharpie (including the date I cooked it) and it's been 90 days since I had to toss something because I forgot what it was. What's your trick for keeping track of what's actually in there?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.reese1mo ago

Started doing the same thing about a year ago and it changed everything. I use blue painter's tape and a fat sharpie, write the date and a short description like "chili 3/12" or "rice 3/10". The key for me was getting into the habit of writing it down before I even put the container in the fridge, not after. Also started keeping a little whiteboard on the fridge door where I list what's in there and when it needs to go. Takes maybe two extra minutes when I cook and saves me from playing the sniff test game later.

noran211mo ago

Hold up, you're using a whiteboard on the fridge? That's genius level organization, I can barely remember to tape the container half the time. But now I'm wondering how often you actually look at that whiteboard or if it just becomes background noise after a week.

susan4241mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, do you guys ever think about what happens when someone else in the house moves stuff around without updating the whiteboard? Because that's the REAL issue I run into with @wells.reese's system. My husband will eat the leftover pasta I had labeled for Tuesday but never erase it, so I'll go looking for dinner and find an empty container. I've actually started using a color code on the whiteboard - red marker for things that are for specific meals and black for free-for-all snacks. It kinda helps, but nothing stops my teenager from ignoring the whole system entirely.